


Nevermore

by CokeZero



Series: My Albums A-Z [6]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Demon!Ryan, M/M, Semi-dark, Unconventional Relationship, Well kinda sorta a demon, dark themes, it's a little different but still a dark force thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 01:57:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CokeZero/pseuds/CokeZero
Summary: Shane has felt a presence with him his entire life but was never afraid of it despite what it had done to others. When he finally comes face to face with it, everything changes.





	Nevermore

Album: Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe by The Alan Parsons Project

Song: The Raven

 

_The clock struck midnight_

_And through my sleeping_

_I heard a tapping at my door_

_I looked but nothing lay in the darkness_

_And so I turned inside once more_

_To my amazement_

_There stood a raven_

_Whose shadow hung above my door_

_Then through the darkness_

_It spoke that one word_

_That I shall hear forever more_

_Nevermore_

_Thus quoth the raven, nevermore_

_And still the raven remains in my room_

_No matter how much I implore_

_No words can soothe him_

_No prayer remove him_

_And I must hear for evermore_

_Quoth the raven, nevermore_

_Thus quoth the raven_

_Nevermore_

* * *

 

 

Shane was being followed. He had felt it for his entire life, something just outside of his vision stood there and waited for him. He didn’t understand how he knew it was waiting for him, but he felt it in his gut. 

 

His parents told him that he was a baby he would stare up at the ceiling and chant “Ryan” over and over, long before he could say any other words. 

 

They told him it was his guardian angel. Shane figured they were close but not quite. Ryan was no angel but he was a guardian of sorts. 

 

Nothing bad ever happened to Shane, that much was true. If he ever had a bully, the bully would end up ill or injured to the point they couldn’t mess with Shane anymore. 

 

Once, he was walking on his college campus and was nearly hit by a car, only missing it by jumping back onto the sidewalk. The driver veered off to the side after passing Shane and ended up in a ditch. What barely caused any damage to the car, killed the driver. The news said it was caused by a sudden aneurysm but Shane knew Ryan was behind the death. 

 

He wanted to hate himself for finding comfort in Ryan’s protection, but it was nice knowing something out there had his back. 

 

—

 

Shane was a heavy sleeper, but was awoken by three gentle knocks on the front door of his apartment right as the clock on his phone flipped to midnight. He went and looked through the peephole, but nothing was there other than the darkness of night and the feeling of being watched he had grown used to. 

 

He sighed and turned, planning on going back to bed. What he saw across his living room stopped him in his tracks. A man bathed in shadows was standing calmly with a gentle smile. 

 

He should have been afraid and would have been had he not known who it was. 

 

“Ryan,” he whispered. Before him was the being who had been following him his entire life, who protected him through it all, and who stood just outside Shane’s vision at all times. And now he could finally see him fully.

 

Ryan cracked a wider smile. “It’s actually The Raven, but you couldn’t say that when you were a baby. Ryan is good though, I like having a human name.”

 

“What- who are you?” He couldn't look away from him, the shadows shifting and changing all around him. He was intoxicated by the sight of him and wanted to take it all in, fearing that Ryan would recede into the corners of Shane's vision again.

 

“You know the answer to that Shane,” he walked further into the light of the room, but shadows remained casted over him. 

 

“Why do you look human?”

 

“So I don’t freak you out with my true form. I would hate to upset you.”

 

"Show me it, I wanna know what you really look like."

 

"Shane-" Ryan began to protest, but was cut off by Shane.

 

"Show me, Ryan," his voice was gruff and hard, but instead of being intimidated, Ryan smiled and nodded. 

 

"If that's what you want." The man before him started to shift and change, first growing taller, his head almost touching the ceiling. The shadows that had surrounded him pulled inward toward him, darkening his skin. Then his body began to morph into the shape of a bird, his arms becoming wings and his face becoming a long, sharp beak. His entire form was the deepest black Shane had ever seen, going beyond onyx to something that could only be described as darkness. 

 

"The raven is literal then," Shane whispered after a moment, trying to deflect with humor.

 

"I have always enjoyed your jokes," Ryan's voice had changed, too, to something deep and rumbling that Shane suspected only he could hear because Ryan elected to let him hear. 

 

Shane fought back a blush at the compliment and shook his head, "can you turn back to the person form? I feel weird talking to a bird." The shift back was nearly immediate, far less dramatic than his change into The Raven. "Why are you doing this?"

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Following me,” Shane wanted to be mad, yell, fight Ryan, all because of the feeling of never having been alone his entire life. But he couldn’t. He had to admit to himself that he was thankful for the companionship and company Ryan’s presence brought. 

 

"We are destined, Shane. You are meant to be by my side as I destroy the earth."

 

“Why would I destroy the earth? I live here.”

 

“You won’t if you join me. And destroy isn't necessarily the right term, it's more of a change. For people to meet who really controls all of this world, who created them and their souls and the entire universe. Your family will be safe, of course, and anyone you care for, just tell me who and they will be protected.”

 

He remained quiet for a long moment as he took in what he was told. "Can I say no?"

 

Ryan’s face softened. “Shane. Of course you can. I would never take your free will away. I care for you more than you can understand. You have been my destiny for millennia and I have been waiting for this moment. But I would never take your choice away.”

 

“Can I touch you?” He asked after a moment. 

 

Ryan held out his hand and Shane watched in fascination as shadows swirled around it. He took it gently, surprised to feel a shiver down his spine that was caused by attraction rather than fear and watched as the shadows began to dance around his hand as well, slowly traveling up his arm. 

 

He looked up from their hands to Ryan's face, his expression patient and gentle. "Will I be human? If I say yes to this... will I be human?”

 

"Nevermore,” Ryan whispered, squeezing his hand gently. "I know it is difficult to understand what I am telling you, to change what you have known your entire life, but it is the truth."

 

"How do I know I can trust you?"

 

"Because you are all I care about in this world. I have existed for over four billion years with nothing to care for, only the knowledge that I would one day care for you. You completely exceed my expectations for what caring for someone would be. I don't know how to explain the deepness of my feelings for you, but say the word and I'll be gone. I only want to do what you want to do."

 

Shane stared at him a moment longer, all the moments he felt Ryan's protection by his side, all the moments he felt comforted by him through any emotional distress or physical pain flashed before his eyes. He realized what he had said was wrong, Shane did understand the depth that Ryan cared for him because he had shown him at every single opportunity. He didn't have anyone else in this world like that. “Yes. I’ll join you.”

 

Ryan's eyes widened in surprise, almost comically so. “Are you sure?”

 

“I am. I’ve felt this coming my whole life. You’re not as sneaky as you think, Ry.” Shane said with a smirk. "You've been with me through everything and I always knew it had to mean something. Sure I wasn't expecting this, but... I guess I don't mind as much as I probably should."

 

He grinned and pulled Shane down into a searing kiss, sealing the deal they had made and had been destined for since the beginning of time. 

**Author's Note:**

> This project will hopefully have an update everyday as I go through my albums alphabetically (I currently own 74). It won't always be the same ship or fandom and each can be read independently.
> 
> This one may get expanded into a full series later.


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